When Aron Olegnowicz-Cruz thinks about his future, he envisions getting his MBA and working in the business world. But for now, the 22-year-old works as a special education teacher at a charter elementary school in Columbus, Ohio.
Olegnowicz-Cruz is in her first of two years teaching with Teach for America, the nonprofit organization that recruits recent college graduates to teach in underserved schools across the United States.
Olegnowicz-Cruz, who studied political science and psychology at Ohio State University and completed a pre-MBA summer fellowship at Harvard Business School, hadn’t planned to teach. Then he discovered TFA through the Association of Latino Professionals for America.
He learned that accepting a teaching position today could help him achieve his long-term personal and professional goals.
A teaching job with financial and professional stability
TFA has its good share of criticismincluding those who say it fails to help low-income students access qualified teachers, and that corps members’ two-year commitments accelerate turnover in areas that need stability. Meanwhile, supporters say the program brings people from elite backgrounds into the classroom and can encourage a new wave of leaders to join the education system as a whole.
Teaching isn’t exactly a low-stakes profession: it’s known for its low salariesburnout rates and staff shortages.
For its part, TFA has strived to address common challenges and appeal to Gen Z college graduateswho like Olegnowicz-Cruz are increasingly concerned about their post-graduate studies financial stability And work-life balance while making a significant and positive impact at the start of their career.
Although he had the option of teaching in Miami or New York, Olegnowicz-Cruz was happy to learn he could stay and teach in Columbus, where he says having friends and Family nearby helped him avoid the post-college isolation that comes with moving to a country. new community.
Plus, he says his annual starting salary of $49,000 helps him live comfortably there, when he thought the local salary in more expensive cities wouldn’t have been as extensive.
“I’m a big believer in diving into the unknown and enjoying meeting new people in a new chapter,” he says. “But I also understand that in doing a job as emotionally demanding as teaching, especially in an underserved school, I wanted to make it a little easier on myself and stick with something that would benefit me comfort.”
Olegnowicz-Cruz began TFA training last summer to develop her teaching skills and underwent intensive onboarding at her placement school before working with students. He meets the requirements set by the Ohio State Board of Education and is licensed to teach special education.
His daily life
Olegnowicz-Cruz arrives at school every day at 7:30 a.m. to prepare for classes that start at 9 a.m. Throughout the day, students visit her classroom for one-on-one specialized sessions to achieve their learning goals, whether that is learning to read. or better understand the math lessons their general education class is learning.
Olegnowicz-Cruz also visits some students in their classrooms throughout the day to provide individualized instruction alongside their general education teacher.
He sees a handful of students each day, with breaks to supervise recess, until classes end at 4:15 p.m. He spends the rest of his afternoon planning lessons, holding meetings with teachers, to contact students’ families and, in general, to follow classes. the progress his students make. It’s a “lucky” day when he gets to leave school at 6 p.m., when he says a visit to the gym helps him decompress physically and mentally.
The biggest challenges of his job are things beyond his control, like when students arrive late to school due to unreliable transportation issues. His schedule, although busy every minute, must also be flexible to accommodate students who arrive late or who have to move their session with him to another time.
Because every challenge is also a positive, especially the individual reading sessions with her students, aged 4 to 10, Olegnowicz-Cruz says: “That has to be the most emotionally rewarding part of the job, it is teaching children to read. »
Make an impact
Ultimately, Olegnowicz-Cruz says he is inspired to teach by thinking about how supportive teachers have shaped his own life. Olegnowicz-Cruz was born in Mexico and moved to Ohio when he was young; he learned English in public school and was encouraged to take leadership roles in extracurricular activities, eventually serving as president and founder of several student groups at the university.
In the same way, Olegnowicz-Cruz hopes to inspire her students to work hard and have high expectations of themselves to set and achieve their own goals.
Upon completion of his term as a corps member, Olegnowicz-Cruz will receive a $13,000 education stipend from AmeriCorp and TFA, which he will use to earn his MBA or pursue a one-year master’s degree in leadership in a program in China. He was also offered a business consulting internship in Washington, D.C., for the summer.
As for his future in business, Olegnowicz-Cruz is primarily interested in economic development and supporting access to high-quality education in the Global South, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
“The job I have now is extremely rewarding,” he says, “and I know that everything I learn, not only in terms of organizing my daily life, but also in managing stakeholders, working with data, all these transferable skills are a major asset to achieve my goal and the impact I want to have at a systemic level.
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